Articles written by Associated Press

MISSOULA (AP) — The former chief financial officer of Vann’s Inc. was sentenced Thursday to 14 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to conspiring to defraud the employee-owned electronics and appliance retailer, causing it to file...

BILLINGS (AP) — Scientists say the amount of heat coming from Yellowstone Lake appears to be much higher than previously thought. Rob Sohn with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is leading a $5 million study of the lake. He says his team...

GREAT FALLS (AP) — A group that represents independent cattle ranchers wants more say in how beef is marketed in the United States. The Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America — or R-CALF USA — filed a lawsuit this...

KALISPELL (AP) — A Helena woman who was sexually assaulted by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee while on a work trip has filed a lawsuit, saying she has been subject to retaliation and harassment in the workplace. The woman filed a federal...

HELENA (AP) — The Montana Supreme Court race could soon set a fundraising record, as new reports show a state political party has contributed to the nonpartisan race for the first time in decades. District Judge Dirk Sandefur and former University...

BERLIN (AP) - Scientists at the European Space Agency downplayed the likely loss of its Mars lander, saying Thursday that a wealth of data sent back by the experimental probe would help them prepare...

MISSOULA (AP) — Montana’s attorney general will issue a legal opinion on a Missoula ordinance requiring background checks for private gun sales. The Montana Department of Justice received a formal request for an opinion on the measure from Austin...

MISSOULA (AP) — The University of Montana has notified students of a reported sexual assault that occurred in a residence hall involving someone the victim knew. Students were notified Tuesday night via email and text. UM spokeswoman Paula Short...

HELENA — A Lincoln County official says she has a constitutional right to call herself a Republican while campaigning in the county’s nonpartisan elections, and she is seeking to strike down a Montana law that bars her from doing so, according...

The Associated Press HELENA (AP) - On his Facebook page, 18-year-old Jacob Bachmeier has the usual selfies, including one cuddling his baby sister and another showing him in the great outdoors with a...

GREAT FALLS (AP) — A 23-year-old Harlem woman has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the death of a Hays resident last fall. Arianne Latray entered her plea Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge John Johnston in Great Falls. She remains...

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana lawmakers considered for the first time Monday whether to regulate electronic cigarettes. Sen. Diane Sands brought the bill before the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee on behalf of the Montana...

HELENA — Montana Republicans have voted to join a lawsuit seeking to limit their primary elections to those registered with the GOP. The Republican State Central Committee approved the motion by an 83-43 vote Saturday in Helena. They will join a...

BILLINGS — A former Chippewa Cree tribal council member pleaded guilty Monday to embezzlement, tax evasion and other federal charges as part of a wide-ranging investigation into corruption within the northern Montana tribe. John "Chance" Houle...

BILLINGS (AP) — Two more defendants in a sweeping corruption investigation into Montana's Chippewa Cree tribe have agreed to plead guilty to federal charges, according to court documents filed Monday. Former Chippewa Cree tribal council member...

HELENA — More than 20 media groups, including The Associated Press, have asked a Montana court to hold the state House Republican Caucus in contempt for holding an unpublicized meeting in apparent violation of state open-meetings law. The Great...

HELENA — A federal judge in Montana has overturned the state's ban on gay marriage. U.S. District Judge Brian Morris ruled Wednesday that Montana's constitutional amendment limiting marriage to between a man and a woman violates the Equal...

HELENA — U.S. Senate candidate Amanda Curtis hasn't had much time to introduce herself to Montana voters since becoming the Democratic nominee in August, but she's getting a boost from the party's biggest names in the final days before Tuesday's...

HELENA — A former co-worker of Montana Supreme Court candidate Lawrence VanDyke is questioning whether the ex-solicitor general has the experience and temperament for a seat on the state's highest court. Montana Department of Justice Civil Division...

HELENA (AP) — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Amanda Curtis has posted her first and perhaps only television ad, a major accomplishment for a candidate who entered the race in mid-August with no money. The ad features Curtis meeting with Montanans...

HELENA — The U.S. Army War College revoked Democratic Sen. John Walsh's master's degree after an investigation completed Friday concluded he plagiarized a research paper required to graduate, a college spokeswoman said. The Carlisle, Pennsylvania,...

NEW YORK - With the solemn toll of a bell and a moment of silence, the nation paused this morning to mark the 13th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attack at the hallowed site that has been transfor...

Correction: HELENA (AP) — In a story Sept. 8 about tribal payday lending, The Associated Press reported erroneously how much revenue from the Chippewa Cree tribe's online lending company was received by three tribal members. It was 7 percent, not...

HELENA (AP) — Montana ranks fifth in the country for employment growth, but it faces slower growth in the future as many members of an aging workforce retire, state officials said Friday. The Department of Labor and Industry's Labor Day report...

HELENA (AP) — A Helena judge has dismissed claims by the Montana Senate majority leader that the governor, a state senator and two commissioners of political practices conspired to drive him out of office. Sen. Art Wittich, R-Bozeman, made the...